Halo 3 Beta: A Beginner's Guide

By Richard Melville Published 14 May, 2007

Lovely this time of year.

So you've read the first impressions here. This Beginner's Guide walks you through each of the three new maps, pointing out scenery of note, general level structure and the odd tip that could possibly stem the inevitable early shame of being owned by someone with a gamer tag such as Wank Static. Or Girls Gun Wild. Think of this as a Rough Guide travel journal, relayed by Louis Theurox running around like a headless chicken in an intergalactic warzone.

Before you enter the game you should know the following things. You can pick your language, prioritise players with a good connection speed and also 'veto' any levels - a majority veto from active players will lead to a new map and game type being offered. 3 ranked playlists are available: Rumble Pit, Team Slayer and Team Skirmish. In the 'Social Playlist' Rumble Training and Team Training are available. So, in theory, you can avoid playing with TexasGunSlinga who is abusive, has a shit connection and loves playing the really, really simple map that no one else likes. For the record (and the lawyers), TexasGunSlinga doesn't really exist - we made him up, see?

In case you didn't know, you'll need to use Crackdown as a beta key on 16th May to download the beta which weighs in at 916 Meg. In the meantime, ready yourself for the carnage and enjoy...

High Ground

'Halo 3 Beta: A Beginner's Guide' Screenshot 1

High Ground: the trick is to get guns, start climbing up to the highest point, then kick multiple asses.

This will be the most familiar map for existing players of Halo 2. High Ground is a sun scorched tropical retreat which features concrete bunkers, metal gates and curious military base style objects. The most hectic and most complex of the maps in the beta, High Ground is basically a chance to snipe through bunker windows or camp on top of them as you get higher and higher. The gates can be blasted open and there a good amount of boxes and barrels to be blasted and sent tumbling towards rivals. The object that aroused our tingling investigate tendrils most, however, is a gated giant launching device. The three vacant holes in the launcher which points skywards look like something that a Bond villain might have on his Christmas wish-list. Sadly, it's not active, with only the 'Guidance Control' label on the side of the structure suggesting that it could (maybe) launch planet destroying rockets in the single player game. There's ragged camo sheets covering the higher concrete bases , along with gun turrets and a small tunnel system which can be used as a hiding place. The tunnel itself looks suspiciously like a missile loading rig to us, given our in-depth military knowledge gained by watching Under Siege at least three times. Importantly, once you get in the tunnel, it's possible to camp and throw grenades towards the entrance like a territorial SAS mole, detonating anyone who dares poke their snout in.

So far, so Goldeneye. There's even a radio and laptop on a random desk and all manner of barrels labeled with toxic stickers. Again, we'll happily speculate that this points towards massive chemical/nuclear war in the single player game. The first thing you'll notice while admiring the gorgeous yet familiar scenery is the presence of Mongoose jeeps (a two seater recon vehicle with no weapons, unlike the Warthog from the previous games) by the coastal end of the map, useful for Skirmish and Team Slayer modes. With the sheer amount of hazardous stickers on everything and plentiful jeeps, we're guessing that nobody's really considered the carbon footprint agenda here. This is confirmed when you get to the top of High Ground and look down upon rivals like ants. The view is stunning but there's something here that uses more electricity than the frickin' Death Star. It's called the Spartan Laser and it flickers a red beam of light towards a target before causing an explosion that goes off the Richter scale. If you see a little red beam, it's not a lens flare effect, it's early notification of your impending death which will occur 00.21 seconds later.

Snowbound

'Halo 3 Beta: A Beginner's Guide' Screenshot 2

Snowbound: When newbies pop out of the snow holes, pop them or, better still, stick them from above.

This is a simple, open plan map based around a core above ground base which you will have already seen in the the preview videos. You know, it's got a nice shimmery golden snakeskin patio bit. There's further bunkers which are buried in the snow and a tunnel system which links them. Look closely, and you'll see freakish purple tubes protruding from the snow, linking the bases. A good tactic is to hide near the distant exits to the tunnel systems. Players have a choice of heading back into the tunnel, starting a long over-ground walk back to the middle of the map or investigating an alien gun turret. If you choose to do that latter, you'll be shot. Yes, they're pretty pieces of alien hardware but they act as automatic sentry guns designed to keep you in the confines of the beta map. It's better than hitting an invisible wall, we guess but quite a shock when the vacant turret bleeps, powers up and then executes you on the spot. The bunkers themselves have shields at the entrances, which means you'll be free of chancers lobbing grenades into the small hideouts. Get into a bunker and you'll be free to do a lap of the tunnels, picking up weapons, shields and grenades before emerging out of the snow like some super-powered polar meerkat.

The massive landscape means that Ghost vehicles are a handy way of getting around but, like Halo 2, they have all the pros and cons of making yourself a flying target, yet the firepower is just about worth it. The flat nature of the level makes hit and run incidents frequent too, but don't expect to own a Ghost for any length of time given the huge supply of grenades.

The final point of interest in Snowbound is a rather large purple ball in one of the bunkers. It's a bit like the flying ball that Luke Skywalker has to try and hit when he's being taught how to use a light saber. Combined with the very Giger esque interior decoration, we'd sum up the Snowbound map by saying it's a little bit Alien, a bit Star Wars and best used as an open-plan training ground before entering the other maps. Think of it as a supermarket car park, best used for learning how to drive a car before you take a driving test but a bit boring once you know what all the pedals and buttons do.

Valhalla

'Halo 3 Beta: A Beginner's Guide' Screenshot 3

Valhalla: Get a jeep and you’ll believe a Warthog can fly. Make sure your passenger is up for doing the 50 foot base jump before he gets on board.

This is the place for fun. Best described as a tropical leisure park stormed by alien terrorists. There's nice green land, sea and lots of pretty rivers joining the top and bottom of the map. At either end, however, lurk giant bases full of the kind of firepower, sniper hide-outs and jeeps that professional Halo gamers will love. The best trick is to pick up a Warthog jeep from one of the bases and drive it off the top of a base, using a blue gravity boost to shoot you (and jeep and passenger) into orbit. You'll have a good three seconds to look at the war below and another second to try and squash someone by landing on them. The pay off, off course, is that you land bang in the middle of a shootout and risk getting slaughtered in the cross-fire. You'll die, respawn and get another jeep for another go like an excited American infant, running and wobbling towards the Orlando waterslide with his rubber ring.

Hardcore Halo fans will like the long distance nature of the level - you can see (and snipe) the enemy base from your base and the Spartan Laser can turn the whole map into an ultra violent lightshow that Muse would be jealous of. The water effects are gorgeous. You'll stand still, shooting the waves and just as you begin to recall what the water in Halo 2 looked like, you'll hear someone breathing and then the familiar 'oorfffffffffh!' as you get beaten down by someone much better than you. Practice early and you'll be the one doing the heavy breathing. On seconds thoughts, you better start practicing that heavy breathing too - we think Darth Vader does it best, closely followed by that nasty bloke in Scream.

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About Richard Melville

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Melville archive page.

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Comments (56) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • foamy #1 5 years ago

    woohoo :D

  • symmetry #2 5 years ago

    I'm going looking for a copy of Crackdown with the code today...

  • Dizzy #3 5 years ago

    Stop torturing me!!!!

    2 more days....

  • dryfish #4 5 years ago

    "First Impressions: Halo 3 Beta: A Beginner's Guide (Dreamcast)"

    I was confused enough already given it's Monday morning!

  • krudster #5 5 years ago

    Yep, it's making a comeback!

  • morriss #6 5 years ago

    So Krudster, are you enjoying yourself playing this? Is it any good IYO?

  • krudster #7 5 years ago

    I had a few rounds on friday, not really in position to comment yet. The three people we gave our keys to seem to be loving it.

  • morriss #8 5 years ago

    ...and if you dare, how do you rate the graphics? A 4 year old PC game? Or not bad for a beta?

  • krudster #9 5 years ago

    Put it this way, like a lot of people out there I was expecting much better visually. I can only hope that this isn't fully representative of what it'll look like in six months time.

  • TKOAC #10 5 years ago

    916 Meg? Crap. That's going to take at least 90 minutes to download. Perhaps even longer seeing as practically every Xbox 360 owner with a copy of Crackdown will be downloading it. :(

  • morriss #11 5 years ago

    Fair enough.

  • Yossarian #12 5 years ago

    I think it was a sensible idea for the Halo-apathetic EG crew to pass those invites on

  • Yossarian #13 5 years ago

    however I should stress that they should have passed on one to me. :(

  • morriss #14 5 years ago

    Just buy Crackdown.

  • morriss #15 5 years ago

    I think they should've passed them on to the Administrators of the Halo Appreciation Group - the largest group on Eurogamers!!!

  • Peew971 #16 5 years ago

    I like how people flame MS for some XBLA prices but yet many people bought a full priced game just for a 3 weeks beta :-D

  • krudster #17 5 years ago

    I love the *idea* of playing Halo online, but I suck at it so badly. Needless to say, the single player portion is the part I'm really interested in.

  • CyberClaw #18 5 years ago

    Heck, after 3 games, I'd think a VG reporter would at least know the name of the jeep in Halo... (Then again... it is Halo and this is Eurogamer)
    The moongoose is not the jeep. It's the 4x4 ATV.
    The jeep is called Warthog...

  • morriss #19 5 years ago

    @Krudster: me too. Except I don't cuck on-line 'that' much. Nowhere close the really good people though.

  • Dizzy #20 5 years ago

    >but yet many people bought a full priced game just for a 3 weeks beta :-D

    Yeah but that game was also super good ;) Two for the price of one.

  • Peew971 #21 5 years ago

    @Dizzy: I agree the game was great but still, many people just didn't bother with it, waiting shamelessly for that beta ;-)

  • Azazel #22 5 years ago

    I'd really like to give multiplayer Halo a go tbh, as a lot of my friends play it religiously, but like krudster I suck badly. And I still can't play an FPS with a pad! arrrrrgh! does. not. compute.

  • The-Bodybuilder #23 5 years ago

    >"I like how people flame MS for some XBLA prices but yet many people bought a full priced game just for a 3 weeks beta :-D "

    What? Because crackdown was crap or anything?
    EDIT: Bt yes, many fools bought the game just for the beta, and don't even play the game.
    Edited by 1 at 14/05/07 @ 11:00

  • bonker #24 5 years ago

    @Krud

    Do we know if there's going to be any co-op in H3?

    As a confirmed FPS-meh bloke, my only interest will be in co-op action ...

  • krudster #25 5 years ago

    Nothing confirmed, but it seems to be mandatory in first party 360 games. They'd be mad not to.

  • Yossarian #26 5 years ago

    it was meant to be in 2 and chopped at the last second. can't see any logical reason why it wouldn't be in this time around.

  • morriss #27 5 years ago

    I just wish they'd announce it. I'll got spare if there's no Live Co-Op

  • malteaserhead #28 5 years ago

    "You'll die, respawn and get another jeep for another go like an excited American infant, running and wobbling towards the Orlando waterslide with his rubber ring."

    lol! Good stuff.

    To all the 'but I'm rubbish' people ... doesn't matchmaking and friends kind of make rubbishness a moot point?

    /is pretty rubbish but still plays

  • Yossarian #29 5 years ago

    yes, but never over Live. it was meant to be in 2 (in fact, you can still set up a lobby in Xbox Live for a co-op game, it just doesn't work), but was cut towards the end of development. Halo 2 was very rushed.

  • gamingdave #30 5 years ago

    Cant wait for Wednesday!








    Im off on holiday :)

  • dirigiblebill #31 5 years ago

    I used to enjoy a bit of the old Halo online, despite my rubbishness. My computer lagged like a bastard, and hence most matches consisted of my throwing tart remarks around whilst running full tilt into a rock.

    Definitely the way to play. Anyway. This Halo 3 schtick is looking a bit familiar, isn't it?

  • bonker #32 5 years ago

    "I just wish they'd announce it. I'll got spare if there's no Live Co-Op "

    I won't be upset as such as I'm not emotionally bound to Halo in any way shape or form. If it's not in there then it's just a guaranteed $80 they won't be getting from me ...

  • Melvinator77 #33 5 years ago

    With or without co-op, it will still be great - there's so much depth in the Live options and maps already and that's just the beta teaser...

  • monkie_king #34 5 years ago

    is there any sign of localized matchmaking in the beta? or do you always end up vs. a bunch of north americans?

  • NthSimulachum #35 5 years ago

    +10 for Muse reference.

  • Dizzy #36 5 years ago

    "is there any sign of localized matchmaking in the beta? or do you always end up vs. a bunch of north americans? "

    There is a language option... not sure if this groups you with all "English" speaking blokes ;) Anyway.. the basis for filtering is there ;) I guess they should have region options (EU/US/OZ)
    Edited by 1 at 14/05/07 @ 12:48

  • monkie_king #37 5 years ago

    @dizzy: not a language thing really, more about the latency -- H2 matchmaking tries to pick a host with the lowest average latency to all the players in the match. however, when 90% of the other players are in the US, the host is inevitably on the wrong side of the pond, and the one or two European players find their shotguns assume the potency of peashooters.

    It probably helps to play at the right time of day, when more Europeans are playing, and fewer Americans -- but that's not always possible.

  • symmetry #38 5 years ago

    What time on Wednesday does the beta start?

    Nevermind, found it myself:

    5am Pacific Time, which means:-

    1pm UK Time... hopefully.
    Edited by 1 at 14/05/07 @ 13:44

  • Benno #39 5 years ago

    i thought the download for the beta was released at midnight? thats what it said on some video i watched, or is that only for the americans?

  • CyberClaw #40 5 years ago

    Well, whomever wrote the article, corrected the first mongoose jeep mention (on page one) to warthog jeep, but still refers to it as mongoose jeep in page 2 and in the picture caption... Half-arsed correction ;p

    Mongoose is the ATV... Which begs the question, how are the mongoose? We all played Halo 1 and 2, we all know more or less how the Warthogs and the Ghosts handle... Is it really as good as they make it sound in CTF?..

  • broony #41 5 years ago

    Its actually 12 am PDT so thats 8am GMT on wednesday.

    [link url=http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=to pnews&link=h3betaz
    ]http://ww w.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?...[/link]

    When does the Halo 3 Beta go live?

    The Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta will go live on May 16th at 12:00 AM PDT and run through June 6 th at 11:59 PM PDT.



  • Walshicus #42 5 years ago

    Valhalla is the beautiful baby love child of the second single player level of Halo 1 and Blood Gulch.

  • krudster #43 5 years ago

    Cyberclaw, it *is* called the Mongoose in this one, stop confusing me!

  • Xerx3s #44 5 years ago

    If you see a little red beam, it's not a lens flare effect, it's early notification of your impending death which will occur 00.21 seconds later.

    Like.

  • CyberClaw #45 5 years ago

    krudster, THE Mongoose is the damn ATV. A 2 person, 4x4 ATV bike. It looks like a mini Warthog, but it's no jeep. It's a ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) - a 4 by 4 motorcycle. 2 persons load. Faster than the Warthog.
    The Warthog is the jeep... For crying out loud, they wouldn't just change the Warthog name into the name of the ATV... The ATV was already called Mongoose back in Halo 2 (when it wasn't canned).

    Look, just do a google image search for Halo Mongoose, and Halo Warthog.

  • CyberClaw #46 5 years ago

    krudster you are mixing stuff up in the article... The Mongoose is a two seater bike. Not a jeep. It carries the biker, and a pilon. The pilon can fire it's own weapon or carry a flag.

    The Warthog is the 3 seater jeep. You can either seat at the driver seat, go back and seat in the fixed weapon (and fire it) or seat shotgun, and either fire your own weapon or carry a flag. The picture that says a mongoose can fly clearly has a warthog with 3 seats (although only 2 people are in the warthog).

    I'm suposing you never played Halo a whole lot, so I'll tell you the secret. If you want to seat in shotgun, you need to actually be facing shotgun seat. If you want to climb in the back, you need to face the fixed gun emplacement. If you want to drive it, you need to face the driver seat...

    Here is a rundown of Halo vehicles you can drive just in case you need it:
    -Warthog 3 seater jeep. Driver, Shotgun (own weapon/flag), fixed weapon (minigun/gauss gun)
    -Mongoose 2 seater ATV 4x4 bike. Driver, Pillon (own weapon/flag)
    -Ghost 1 seater antigrav bike. Pilot can fire dual plasma guns or boost (only in Halo 2 and 3)
    -Banshee 1 seater antigrav airship. Pilot can fire single plasma gun, or plasma cannon (plasma cannon only available in Halo 2 single player)
    -Scorpion Tank - 5 seater tank. Pilot can fire single cannon, or single machinegun. In Halo 2 only NPCs can seat in the spare seats on top of the tracks. In Halo 1 players can seat there as well.
    -Wraith Tank - 1 seater tank. Pilot can fire single plasma cannon. NPCs can also fire twin plasma guns when driving it.
    -Spectre - 4 seater antigrav. Pilot, 2 shotgun seats (can fire own weapons, or carry flag), 1 fixed weapon (plasma gun).

    This are all the playable vehicles in Halo. Halo 1 has Warthog, Ghost, Scorpion and Banshee (banshee only SP). Halo 2 also has the Wraith Tank, and Spectre (and the banshee is playable in MP). Halo 3 has the "new" mongoose (it is actually a canned feature of Halo 2, basicly a 2 seater ATV bike), and no other vehicle was anounced yet.

  • CyberClaw #47 5 years ago

    Just go here:
    [link url=http://www.bungie.net/projects/halo3/ass et_thumb_viewer.aspx?at=59&cc=21
    ]http://ww w.bungie.net/projects/halo3/ass...[/link]
    And click in the image that says "Valhalla: Missile Pod versus Warthog" (see? 3 seater jeep)
    Then click "High Ground: Mongoose Chaos" (clearly a 2 seater ATV bike)

  • Xerx3s #48 5 years ago

    You know what just dawned on me? Where are the other character models? No elites? Are there things that the beta doesn't reveal?

  • foamy #49 5 years ago

    Maybe you can play as a mosquito in SP, and they don't wanna reveal it in MP.

  • Yossarian #50 5 years ago

    "Are there things that the beta doesn't reveal?"

    most of the vehicles aren't in it, including the Pelican, which is reported to be in multiplayer, as well as the rumoured Brute Ghost. the pistol and the sword are nowhere to be found, in addition to any other new weapons we don't know about. it only has a fraction of the maps obviously, there are quite a few game modes that aren't in, and there may be more equipment too. plus all the new options, customisations, and 'traits' or whatever they're calling them (where you can set things like the run speed or the gravity etc. based on certain conditions) aren't in. and the saved film feature is nowhere near complete. also who know, there may be some other surprises.

  • CyberClaw #51 5 years ago

    You're welcome =p

  • davisorle #52 5 years ago

    There's a bunch of things not in the Beta. If you read about the stolen source of the Beta through the modded 360s they even talk about smoke grenades and stuff and not just about the models.. I can have faith in the new additions in Hale 3. Did you notice how realistic it is with the radio? talking everyone close to you can hear or you have to use the D-pad for the radio to turn on till u stop talking. That's awesome and really usefull. 2 thumbs up

  • InterMeLocal #53 5 years ago

    Agrees with Malteaserhead...

    "You'll die, respawn and get another jeep for another go like an excited American infant, running and wobbling towards the Orlando waterslide with his rubber ring."

    Classic stuff!

  • davisorle #54 5 years ago

    For those who worried... I just read that not only there WILL BE co-op but it will be up to a 4player co-op!!!! ^^ damn... Here is the list with the rest of the hidden features they got from the Beta:

    Weapons

    Assault Rifle
    Battle Rifle
    Beam Rifle
    Brute Shot
    Carbine
    Excavator
    Gravity Hammer
    Flamethrower
    Magnum
    Missile Launcher
    Needler
    Plasma Pistol
    Plasma Rifle
    Fuel Rod Cannon
    Rocket Launcher
    Shotgun
    SMG
    Sniper Rifle
    Spartan Laser
    Spiker
    Sword

    Vehicles

    Mongoose
    Warthog
    Hornet
    Pelican
    Scorpion
    Ghost
    Brute Chopper
    Spectre
    Shadow
    Banshee
    Phantom
    Wraith

    Game Types

    Capture the Flag (Invade your opponent’s stronghold, heist their flag, and bring it back to your base to score.)
    Slayer (Kill as many of your opponents as you can. The player with the most points wins.)
    Oddball (Find the ball and hold on to it to earn time. The player with the most time wins.)
    King of the (Hill Gain control of the hill to earn time. Keep your opponents off and earn the most time to win.)
    Juggernaut (Work together to take down the Juggernaut. Beware, you kill the Juggernaut, you become the Juggernaut, and only the Juggernaut can win.)
    Territories (Find and control the territories on the map. The more territories you control, the faster you earn time.)
    Infection (Destroy the Flood or become infected. Score points for killing flood or big points for infecting a human. The player with the most points wins.)
    Assault
    Da bomb!
    V.I.P. (Protect the V.I.P. from dying at the hands of your opponents. If you are the V.I.P., you must stay alive or your opponents score a point.)

    Variations (Apparently, you'll be able to share these with other users much in the same way you do with movies )

    Team Slayer
    Team Swords
    Team Rockets
    Team Shotguns
    Team Fiesta
    Team Phantoms
    Slayer Duel
    Sword Duel
    Rifle Duel
    Rumble Slayer
    Rumble Swords
    Rumble Rockets
    Rumble Shotguns
    Oddball
    Fiesta Ball
    Team Ball King
    Phantom King
    Crazy King
    Team Crazy King
    Multi Flag CTF
    CTF Wraiths
    CTF Classic
    Shotgun CTF
    1 Flag CTF
    1 Flag CTF Fast
    Multi Bomb Assault
    Rapid Assault
    Neutral Bomb
    Neut. Bomb Fast
    3 Plots Land Grab

    A glitch in the beta allowed users to access the custom games menu option, revealing the following:

    Damage resistance
    Shield multiplier
    Shield recharge rate
    Immune to headshots
    Grenade counts
    Infinite ammo
    Weapon pickup disabled
    Player speed (25%, 50%, 75%, 90%, 100%, 110%, 125%, 150%, 200%, 300%)
    Player gravity (50%, 100%, 200%)
    Vehicle use (passenger only)
    Motion tracker range (10m, 25m, 75m, 100m, 150m)
    Appearance
    Vis effects (black glow, team glow, white glow)
    Active camo (good camo that might fool and elite, poor camo that might fool a grunt, invisible)
    Indestructible vehicles (on, off)

    There... :p

  • robg #55 5 years ago

    What on earth is this still doing on the front page when the Starcraft 2 dev clip came and went in about ten minutes?

  • Wank_Static #56 5 years ago

    hehehehe Just read this.

    Thanks for the shout-out ;)

    p.s. I'm not that good :p